So this topography map actually has some meaning. This would be the camping spot my wife and I stayed at during one of our stops for our honeymoon since we got married during Covid and couldn’t really do much at the time. Located on the Gemini bridges trail in Moab, Utah. Funny enough it was actually called Brides Canyon. Didn’t find out till after lol.
Fabricated a prinsu style rack using 3/16” steel flat stock for the sides. Cut out 1/4” slots for the 1x2 extruded aluminum T-track crossbars. Side rack for accessories is made out of electrical unistrut. Painted all steel with truck bed rhino liner to match frame and fenders. Custom made mounts for spare tire, propane tank, and traction boards. Used Quick Fist rubber mounts for axe and was able to mount solar panel and awning on roof rack.
Galley door- I had to make a custom door as I wanted the biggest door I could fit. I also had to make the trim. Trim is 1/8” aluminum with 1/8” butyl tape behind it to prevent leakage. 3/8” D seal for a weather sealing. Teardrop style hurricane hinge for the door with shocks.
Cabinets and drawers were built with 1/2” finished cedar. Counter top is 1.5” cedar butcher block. Cook top is on a double slide out with storage under the cook top. Slide outs are 18” locking sliders. Installed (2) 120v outlets, one for cooler and one on backsplash. The backsplash outlet also has usb and usbc charging. There are (2) dimmable 4” recess light in The kitchen galley and (2) mounted on the door for extra lighting. Started off with cheap 42Q cooler I had then upgraded to an Explorer Bear 55Q cooler (bigger and more efficient). Finally build photos on profile.
For all who been asking here’s a write up on the electrical. For the trailer I went with a 7pin connector incase In The future I wanted to add charging from the vehicle when hooked up or trailer brakes. I went with led strip brake and signal lights in rear and amber side marker lights. All electrical is ran inside the main center beam and exits for hookup to keep out of weather/ cleaner look. Also helps keep away most of the wiring from rodents or anything what would chew on wiring.
The interior electrical. I added a diagram I drew up for better visual. Also shows all fuse sizes used and wire gauge used. If a wire gauge is labeled, that size was used till that specific wire hit its end point. For example wire from battery to fuse to shut off to bus bar stayed the same size all the way through. What ever gauge is listed for the positive wire the negative wire for that component was the same size. I will say since I’m running my loads for 12v DC off the bus bar that means my solar charger Bluetooth monitor can not display draw watts being used only input watts from solar. If you want to monitor watts being used you have to run load off the solar charger to the 12v panel or you can run like I did but will have to add a shunt bar to monitor draw output. I’m in no means a pro at this and this is just what I learned after months of research. So connect at your own risk. I will say I have not had problems with this set up. I started with flooded batteries then switched to lithium as the flooded batteries were 85lbs each and the lithium are 22.5lbs each. I ran about 5 days on a single charge and indefinitely with a 100w solar panel hooked up never dipping under 95% on a single day. Keep in mind I did a lot of shopping to find lights, fan and cooler that take up minimal amprage. For example my light take up 2watts at full brightness and .4 and low setting, with 4 lights inside I never have to use over 25% brightness. My Exploror Bear 55Q cooler uses 30w when on, with it being inside the insulated galley it doesn’t run much. Exterior lights have 3 dimmer setting 4w, 6w and 8w but 4w is plenty bright. The 10speed maxxair 4500 runs anywhere from 5w-40w depending on speed setting, I usually run mine anywhere from 10%-20% speed all night and almost never during the day. I do have a PWM solar charge control that I will be upgrading to a MPPT solar charge control and that will give me more control on charge parameters with the new lithium batteries I installed so they don’t get damaged with over charging. Any more questions feel free to ask. Finale build photos on my profile.
Interior work. All 1/4” finished cedar for the walls. 1/2” finished cedar for cabinetry. Installed (4) 4” dimmable recessed lights, a 120v receptacle invertor/ power monitor, (2) 12v 5a usb/ usbc chargers and maxxair 4500 (10 speed w/ auto temp control and reversible) fan. Also added a bunk for our 4yr old.
Here I used 3M VHB tape to secure the Aluminum Composite Material (ACM) panels. Bought 5x9 and 4x9 panels for a seamless application. Also used BEEAT RV Seal on all joints before adding trim. Along with 3/4” insulation in the interior.
All 3/4”x3/4”x1/16thk tube. I put up a rough CAD drawing of the framing but I did change a couple dimension as I was building it. Finale build on my profile.
Since a lot have been asking about the build I’ll start posting some step by step photos. I’m no professional welder but know enough to get by lol. Finish build on my profile.
5x9 trailer. Took about 2 months to build on my weekends and a couple days throughout the week. 100% built on my driveway from frame to interior, electrical and rack system. More details on each step on my insta @squaredrop_diy link also on profile. Any questions about it ask away.